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Friday, July 3, 2009

I will admit, I love meat. When I think about what to make for dinner, I usually automatically think MEAT - VEGETABLE - PASTA or POTATO. I think that is the standard. Meat, however, is the most expensive part of the budget. I have found a few tricks that have helped me still enjoy meat in meals while still staying within my budget.

++Eat more chicken and ground beef. My target price for both of these is $1.99 per lb. When I see it for less than this, I stock up. There are many, many great meals that can be made with this type of meat. For a casserole, a little bit goes a long way. Check out my ideas HERE and HERE for uses for chicken and HERE for ground beef.

++Look for markdowns! The two stores I shop the most here in Boise, ID are Fred Meyer and Albertson's. Both of these stores mark down meat at certain times. I have found ground beef for $1.69/lb at Albertson's late at night. Usually on Saturday nights Fred Meyer has a ton of marked down meat. I have found some amazing deals this way. Figure out which stores in your area do markdowns and check them out!

++Shop the sales - then stock up! Watch for sales on other types of meat. I recently purchased pork roasts at Winco (a local grocery store) for $1.48/lb! Shop the sales and stock up!

++Shoot for a meatless meal once or twice per week. If you aren't eating meat, you aren't spending money on it! Read my article on going meatless HERE.

I'm sure there are other ways to save on meat - like buying a whole cow or something, but I don't have the room for that!

5 comments:

When I divide my meat up after I buy it in bulk, I make some 1/2 lb, some 1 lb and some 1/4 lb. I have found that I can use 1/2 lb in a lot of recipes that call for a lb and it doesn't make a difference. I will reserve the 1 lb blocks for hamburgers or meat loaf or when I want to make extras for left overs.

I have a little chest freezer that is one of the best investments we've ever made. It cost less than $200, but allows me to stock up on meat when there's a great sale. Ha, ha--I also wish I had room to store a whole cow! Then again, I'd probably want the live cow for her milk instead of the sides of beef, LOL! Whenever possible, I like to prep meat ahead of time. I brown ground beef in bulk, then divide it into meal-sized portions. Sometimes I'll make up the actual meat-part of a meal to freeze, like taco meat or barbecue beef. When you can reach for something that's already done for you, you won't be running out to buy fast food on a night you don't really want to cook!BTW, here is a tip a butcher told my mother years ago. If you buy a top round steak (aka London Broil), look for one with the shape that is most like a kidney. The more kidney-shaped, the more tender the meat! I have always found this to be true!

BTW, the Blogger verification word is "jupfo." When I get a bargain on meat, I jup fo' joy!

My friend Amanda, her mom, and I all went in together and purchased about 80 lbs of 90/10 ground beef from Sams Club a while back. We all split it, food savered it and froze it. Its perfect. I know I always have meat on hand!

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Welcome to Saving Some Green, a blog dedicated to sharing ways to save money, time, and energy to help you (and me) accomplish your (our) goals. I hope you enjoy! Please leave your own comments and ideas, or e-mail me at savingsomegreen (at) gmail (dot) com. I'd love to hear from you!